E3: Hideki Kamiya Interview

Bayonetta is a really unique-looking character, where did the inspiration for her come from?

The characters in my previous games such as Viewtiful Joe and Dante each have their own unique persona, Joe is like the mischevious kid, and Dante has a tough guy, cool, image. So we decided lets do something a little different, lets make a female character and the idea was to give her her own unique persona and something that is uniquely Bayonetta, in the same vein as the other characters we created.

How hardcore is this Bayonetta going to be? Is it going to appeal to the kind of players who enjoyed the difficulty of God Hand for instance, or is it going to be a more accessible experience?

There’s two facets to this. One is that the game is very much orientated toward the hardcore user base, where the real crux and core of the game is intimate player-versus-enemy scenarios. It’s really about understanding the strategy of how to utilise your combos, how to dodge, how to activate Witch Mode, how to act in Witch Mode. So all that depth and complexity is really going to appeal to the hardcore action fans.

But around that very intimate battle situation, we have tried to build this much larger game world, that each stage creates more than just one battle after another, there’s a much more dynamic stage environment, like the whole world is spinning around etc. Then there is the storyline and cutscenes, which all creates a larger package. So we know there are people who don’t want to play at the hardcore level, so we’ve put in easy mode, so those who don’t want to learn all the combos can still see the whole package and see all the stages and feel at ease with just enjoying the game.

Also one of the most important factors is the response time and feel of the controls. So you see all these outlandish stages and graphics, but the reality is this is a game that is meant to be played, not just watched. So you can only understand Bayonetta when you play it and feel it for yourself.Since you left Capcom do you feel more creatively uninhibited now, and do you think you could have made a game like Bayonetta while you were still at Capcom?

It’s really hard to say, because it is one of those “what if” scenarios, and it is really hard to say what the circumstances would be if we didn’t form Platinum Games.

But I think given the game we were trying to make and the game we have made, we would have made the same game regardless of the circumstances. We had very specific goals and very specific vision for Bayonetta. So for example had we still been at Capcom when we were putting this game together we would have still had the same team, the same working relationship, level of trust, and experience working together. So we would have the same creative atmosphere and the same goals, so yeah it would be the same game.

You left Capcom’s internal studio Clover, where you made Okami and Viewtiful Joe, to form Platinum. How does Platinum differ as a developer from Clover? What are the studios main goals?

Since I’m not an executive, I can’t really have much say on the overall goals of the company (laughs). I am working on the ground level. From that perspective though, as a smaller company, it is a little more smoother in its own way, a little bit easier to come to decisions, because you don’t have to go through so many levels and strata to reach a decision about what to put in the game. There’s fewer people to go through, so yes, it’s a little bit smoother.

Sega PR Man: Sorry I think we've run out of time.

But still we have like, 10 more questions!Sega PR Man: You really need to go.